Just a little bit of what makes me happy

It’s been over a year now we’ve been in our house and we have accomplished SO MUCH!! I think I’ve painted every wall in the house with the exception of the two upstairs bathrooms. I still have many more projects I want to tackle over the next year, so here is my list of house goals 2018!

1. Finish Painting the Ceiling into the Kitchen and Walls going up the Stairs

Ok, so this one is totally on me being lazy. When we finished our living room renovation I hurriedly painted all the walls and ceiling before they did final electrical. I stopped the ceiling paint as it ran into the kitchen and just haven’t finished it…out of laziness and the fact that I hate painting ceilings! The walls going up the the second level are a little different…it gets REALLY high and I’m just nervous. Well wouldn’t you know getting a $1200 quote from a painter to do this for me was just what I needed to get over the laziness and the fear of height. Well that and this amazing blog post from A Turtle’s Life For Me that is giving me the confidence I needed…and a new tool that I think will make this MUCH easier!! New tool came last weekend…so I might start to tackle the kitchen ceiling this weekend. I’ll keep you posted!

2. Make or Buy a Buffet for the Dining Room

So this fall I inherited some China from my Great Aunt/Godmother. Now I’m not a china person and never would have registered for something like that when we got married but since this meant something it felt a little different. She has been saying for years she wanted me to have it and when she downsized, it was time. My sister brought it to me at Thanksgiving and I must say it’s beautiful! White with a little detail, if I ever wanted china…this would be it. I even used it for Thanksgiving. So now that I have this giant china set I would much rather have a buffet in the dining room for storage (china, bar stuff, etc) vs. the sofa table we have in the room now. Sofa table looks great but doesn’t have the storage I want. I hate for this china to just sit in the basement. So I’m thinking of buying or building a buffet. I found these plans on Pinterest and love it!

new china and current buffet situation

3. Office Space in the ‘Office Bedroom’ Upstairs

Our middle bedroom has always been the ‘office room’ since we moved in. It’s the only bedroom with a little nook, perfect for a desk. I’ve always thought I wanted to have a built in desk but also want lockable file storage and the ability to hide the printer away and pull it out on a slider when needed. The need for this has become more apparent again now that our livingroom remodel is done and our furniture situation is different and we no longer have a media cabinet, which is where the printer, paper etc used to be. I’ve always loved the Whitney or Bedford modular office furniture from Pottery Barn but just haven’t pulled the trigger since I find it expensive and not exactly what I want, and IKEA hacks haven’t totally worked either. Of course I’ve pinned a few things too like this, this, and this.

‘office bedroom’ before paint and new carpet – see that great nook for a desk!

4. Table for New Living Room Space

Part of our living room remodel allowed for us to combine the kitchen and living space with a table that allows for easy eating, working, etc while being part of both spaces. The space was designed to have a 5 ft table and well we just don’t have one yet. So for now we brought our wood IKEA table in from the sun room since we don’t use it this time of year. It’s smaller than 5 ft, which is totally fine for now, but we will want it back in its place once the weather is warmer. This project might end up taking priority sooner than I thought.

this table is now in the kitchen/living space

5. Built Ins Around the Fireplace in the new Living Space

This one is the hardest for me to be patient on! We knew this would come later after the renovation, mostly because if we had the builder do it, it would be another 15K on to the cost of the project – crazy!!! Our goal is to have built ins around the fireplace. I’m pretty sure this is going to be a DIY and possibly an IKEA hack. Something like this, or this. Currently, we have a bookshelf and I DIY’d a blanket ladder on the other side to balance out the space. Honestly, this one might not happen this year.

not a great pic, but you get the idea

So, there you have it…my house goals fro 2018. They might all happen, they might not, and that’s ok! I’ll keep you posted and you might see a few new ones make the list!